Jonas jets off for the summer.

After getting the chance to lift a trophy in front of the home fans last Saturday, Jonas Gutierrez now heads off to the sun for a well earned rest before the start of the World Cup in the summer.

There is no need for him to stick around Tyneside when he isn’t needed and all the targets that really matter are all sorted already, so why not give a player that is sure to be heavily involved this summer the chance to rest for a while? After all, he has been one of our most consistent performers of the season and has worked wonders when combining down the left hand side of the pitch with another one of the three amigos, Jose Enrique. We have even got to have a look at this Spiderman mask malarkey that we had heard about, the one that the Premier League wouldn’t allow as part of it’s ‘no fun’ policy. As it happened it was largely irrelevent anyway as Spidey never really looked like scoring in what was a fractured team last season.

Fast foward a year and look how things change. Gutierrez now has confidence and a bit more of an understanding of the English game. We know he has talent, he demonstrated that on his debut at Old Trafford last season and was the tip of many a pundit to be ‘Signing of the Season’, plus he will be starting at the World Cup in one of world’s best international teams. Sure you could argue that he is playing against an inferior opponent this term and won’t be afforded so much time on the ball next season, but he has largely been double marked or looked at least to be earmarked for ‘special’ treatment from opposing teams this term.

Not only that, his work rate and attitide have been exemplorary this term, and will be vitally important next season when providing an advanced barrier in front of Jose Enrique whilst defending. It won’t hurt that he doesn’t play against QPR in the last game of the season on Sunday, and Chris Hughton giving Jonas a welcome extended break will surely sit well with the Argentine and increase any respect and appreciation there is already between them.

Which brings me onto team management, and more particularly man management. In my experience as a manager, albeit it not in a sporting environment, when you show respect and a bit of understanding to the people who do the job where it counts, on the pitch in this example, then you generally get that back when asking the person to do something extra. Doing a favour is generally not forgotten basically, and if it is then you have to look at the character of the person in question and ask yourself if they fit into your team.

Could Chris Hughton reap the rewards of this favour?

It certainly shows some understanding and compassion on the part of the management, and could be a master stroke by Hughton that could pay dividends next year as the majority of players return from South Africa having to have played up until the last ball has been kicked of their respective domestic campaigns. This could lead to a Jonas Gutierrez that is more refreshed and feeling better than the majority of players who have been involved over the summer and give us an edge in the first few weeks of next season.

Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but I still think it’s a smooth move from Hughton and is yet another indication that the former coach is using up all his experience and turning into quite the manager before our very eyes. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few more senior players rested up on Sunday to be replaced some of the youth players that have performed so well over the course of the season. I’m not saying rest all of our players, but maybe Sunday could be the time to see the likes of Haris Vuckic in senior action?

Toonsy another good one 😉 I think your right jonas has worked well this season and whats the harm in letting him go early, you normally allways remember when your boss does you a favour or a good turn. It could be an indication that Vuckic might be getting a run out. I see there is still no sign of Icedog hope all went well for him 😉

nice to se more sense comeing from toonsy,ie man management i think you will never get team spirit of any value without it,like the old time players used “break down doors for some managers even another 10% can get you a result,good post toonsy

CLiNT – I think any more players that go to the World Cup won’t be known until the squad is announced.

Colo stands a good chance and will probably get selected on a preliminary basis. Whether he makes it to the full squad I’m not so sure.

Jose, excellent though he is, probably won’t make it. If we were in the Prem this season and he performed as good then maybe. Unfortunately I just think he has been a victim of us playing in the Championship.

aye ime here well inbed like,clint was thinking i had lost my sight in one eye lol with goal-keepers glad you brought it up for green lovers what are they seeing,for me one of the poorest keepers in epl,god help us in world cup if they think hes our best

i know i might upset a few lads but i have real dounts about a few toon players in epl next year,have been watching few games on disc over and over while in bed,i know we had one of the best def in the ccc,but imo we will get done epl,first simpson isnt good enough,harper has lost it lately,colo has made some real bad mistakes,even that 17yr old done him twice on sat,maybe mardonna has dounts to,rant over

Is he that good, that he can go to S.A. with Slovenia and have a starting role for us in the PL ?
Only asking, have`nt seen him play, must be pretty good if he can displace Nolan, Joey, Routledge or Jonas.
Think he may get a few starts and sub a bit but doubt if he will be a regular starter, this league is a lot tougher than the quality he has played against and experience means a lot here, which makes me think he will be brought along more slowly by CH, but certainly introduced.

MDS with you on that one m8 i like that hutton who plays for the dark-side,was talk at one point that he was talking to toon,strange remark from hull chairman saying they pay higher wages than the dark-side

I think it’s a bit harsh on Harper to say he’s been dodgy lately, when the season’s been done for us for a few weeks.
We were always gonna slacken off a little.
It’s normal.
But when it really counted the defense was there for us.

“MDS with you on that one m8 i like that hutton who plays for the dark-side,was talk at one point that he was talking to toon,strange remark from hull chairman saying they pay higher wages than the dark-side”

We’ll get to see just how bad the mess at Hull is now. I hear they have already spent a bit of their projected parachute money.

Naturally I’ve been frequenting the Hull City message boards and forums quite a bit recently 😉

Ice yeah got it back mate thank fuk as I had tonnes of work on it so I needed it back badly. So did you get to hear any of the match or see any of the celebrations. It was nice to see Taylor and Carroll with their arms round eachother as I want the both of them here in the prem

BIG DAVE,yeah m8 thats all i watched on my back,i want both of them to stay,thought there was a poor coverage on the whole show imo.has your game lost much work in this down turn,or have you muddled through,always had your side-bets to keep you going like 😉

Ice in the studio we are fully booked till the end of august so no down turn for us 😉 even last year when there wasn’t as much money about we we’re still booked solid. and your right about the coverage I was wrecked sat night and sat up to watch the football show at 11.30 and I was disgusted about 3-4 mins

I know Vuckic isn’t the quickest and isn’t as effective wide left but when Barton/Guthrie played there they always came inside and am sure Vuckic is quicker than Barton/Guthrie so hopefully could play well there.

Mario Balotelli is absolutely first class, a seriously, seriously talented player with perhaps the worst attitude I’ve ever come across in modern football, including Charles Nzogbia and the rest of the wining Frenchmen! He is pure class, and if he could climb down of his lofty pedastool he would have the potential to be one of the world’s greatest strikers. He’ll be world class whether he sorts his attitude or not, he is truly an incredible player!

He’s basically the most arrogant piece of sh*te imaginable! You should have seen the way he behaved against Barca, Mournhio through him on with 20 odd minutes to go, 3-1 up at home against the European champions, and he couldn’t have cared less. He was so disinterested that the crowd got right on his back, then he raged out because the crowd were’nt happy with his performance, through his shirt on the ground at the final whistle etc. Lol some of the comments from the inter players were hilarious, they didn’t try and hide their contempt for the kid, “You’ll have to ask him what goes on in his head cos I certainly don’t know” etc.

Who does wickham play for?
That’s very well thought out mate & very reasonable too.
Though i can’t see us hoying out Best yet tbh.
Not sure chelsea would give us van & would manc give us Onouah?
Rodallega might want out of wigan.

Yeaah i agree with Van Aanholt but maybe if we agree that he plays a certain amount of games and yeaah a do think we can get Ounouha because if they qualify for the champions league, he wont get a game at all, he rarely does now and yah probably right with Best and Wickham plays for Ipswich and is the one that scored the first goal vs us, hes just turned 17, real class act

yeaah wouldn’t mind Adam, can play cm, cam, lm and a decent age. Austin from Swindon does seem quite good but look at Cox the year before he got more goals than Austin and only has 11 for Wba this season ina team that scores lots but they are two different players. i know one thing for sure Austin would cost alot less than Wickham!!

ahaha anna, i think people get overhyped about Dorrans he probably wouldn’t have half his goals if it wasn’t for pens, same with Bent at the scum, ano it takes skill to keep stepping up and scoring them but both of them get far too many and its more likley there going to score than not

Look at the players that are being heavily tipped for a world cup place but just miss out. After the world cup the big rich clubs sign the players who have impressed most and we quietly sign decent well rested hungry players that havent got all the hype.

thing with buying that 17 year old is he wouldnt get a game. maybe we could make the buy with a clause that he stays at ipswich for the season on loan with a min number of appearances or something. work it out so they could take vuckic on loan as well or something to sweeten the deal.

recently spoke to lambias. He says there are no funds. Looking to bring back ex players who know and have passion for the club. Olly Bernard, nobby and lumana lua lua have all been invited back for trials over the summer. Hughton realises he has to keep the team spirit high and this is their master plan along with the best prospects from the lower divisions. Beckford deal is done and dusted along with chopra returning.

The amusing transfer talk regarding us has already started then. Taylor to barca with puyol coming the other way, haha. A 1mil bid for Blackburns Roberts also reported..sadly the latter wouldn’t surprise me, lol.

Should stay away from loan deals by and large. They don’t really bring anything to the party unless their playing for a long term contract. If they are you often find they do well while on loan then get the contract and stop performing.

Also players coming and going every few months doesn’t do anything for team understanding and building team spirit.

I people are bored, but do you really have to get all wobbly over press transfer rumours? You know they are all complete buttocks and we’ll know nowt about anyone in or out until the day the deal is done.

As for Jonas going early, I’m with Toonsy – sound management. Again.

As for him returning refreshed, I certainly hope so. Much though I love wor Spidey, I sincerely hope they get knocked out in the group stage, preferably by a blatant hand-ball goal. Then he can have a proper rest.

And if we can arrange the same for Germany, Italy, France and Portugal (well, Ronaldo anyway – can someone please amputate his legs just below the neck?) I’d be very grateful, ta.

Stu – I’d love to see Van Arnie back permanently. He’s just the kind of buy we need. Can’t see Chelski letting him go, though, but you never know. Certainly need Jose cover. RB is trickier; I’d argue that Simpson should be cover for a new signing there.

My favourite signing this year has been wee Routledge. Not just because of his style of play, but because it was the clearest statement that CH and co knew exactly what was needed and were capable of uncovering the perfect buy to meet the need.

Now, if only we could keep from jumping on all the press stories! Some never learn…

Anyway, are we all in such disagreement? Everyone seems to believe in variations slightly either side of:

1. No more vanity signings
2. Evolution, not revolution. Keep the team and keep the spirit.
2. Need to spend 8 figures in the summer (£10 – £25m)to be safe (ish) from coming back down.
3. More Routledges and Williamsons, please, but up the budget a bit to encompass players suited to PL. Perhaps a few million rather than £1m?
4. If we get the right player at the right price, perhaps splurge more (up to £10m?) in one or two key places, depending on who leaves.

laurent robert is to be brought in for cover for the left wing. . . Shearer is considering a comeback as well if we dont get the quality strikers we need. . . Got to be happy wid dat like. Ex toon and england centre forward back in the big time. At least it shows the club are still thinking big. . Shearer is still a massive name world wide and could do a job up front. Me thinks.

cannot understand why some people on this blog,seem happy to park players on long contracts.
more players like routledge?granted good signing for the championship,but at prem level he’s a two time loser.
is is just me or has fat boy won his battle with the fans?newcastle going down has really played into ashley’s hands,fair enough expections should be curtailed,but are you that desperate now,that you are happy to feed on the scraps from fat boy’s sizable table.
the reality is,newcastle will probably be the lowest net spenders in the prem next season.
sunderland will spend more on one player than newcastle’s entire budget,i’m not advocating spending money the club might not have,but surely ashley must spend the right amount of money on decent players,and not journeymen.
the old adage speculate to accumulate comes to mind,as in the prem the higher you finish the more money you make.
the sort of budget being rumoured,and that is what it is at the moment speculation,but does anyone really think 15 mil will get you the sort of quality reqired for a tough season in the prem?granted we have the odd sucess story,stoke,bolton of the past,wigan,but for the most part most who try fail.
we see this year in year out clubs trying to bridge the gap between the championship and prem,most end up straight back down,i seem to remember a certain mr mcarthy at sunderland given 15mil to spend,and look what happened lowest points total in premier league history.
i can understand the fiscal strategy at clubs like burnley for instance,and i dont want to go down the deluded fan line,but with the fan base newcastle have,how long will they hold on to the fans before another mutiny?it’s hardly the greatest pitch for selling season tickets is it?the question is are newcastle too big to be given the mike ashley sports direct treatment?maybe if he was at watford,with greatest respect to them,they would probably appreciate ashley’s style so to speak after their recent troubles.
i know no club has a divine right to be in the prem etc…,but is it wrong for a club like newcastle to be up there challenging with the best?
as far as i’m concerned this club cannot be kicking it’s heels for too long doing nothing,ashley needs to get it right quickly,or definatley move on and let someone who wants to move this club on have a go.

I have advocated for a while now that a club with over 1 million supporters and who get 50,000 plus supporters at home every game should demand more than ‘just surviving’ and having a transfer criteria that reduces your choices by 50%.

Hell of a risk in my opinion – When you first go up you need to have a choice of as many players as possible, not reducing the pool of players you can get.

trojan u are talking crap! clubs in the prem are buying less and less each year. 70% of clubs in the prem league wont spend much this summer. for u to say that we would probley lowest net spenders then i think u dont no anything about football. first of all u wont no that until the summer is over. the gap your talking about is easier because the teams are getting worse. wolves and birmingaham stayed up how much did they spend and did they go down stop living in the past.

Sorry, fellas – but IMHO, your route isn’t the way to go for a simple reason: it won’t work. How do I know? Because it’s what we did for the last 10 years. Then Ashley came in and went in the opposite direction with even worse results. Then we swung back into the middle (the January window) and bingo; perfect result.

In my job there is a simple mantra: “rushing takes longer”. If you shoot for mid-table, you might well get there, and if you fail you’ll end up just below but ok. If you shoot for top 6, you’ll end up in a relegation battle.

We’re stable. We’re winning. We have spirit and ability in the team. We have a sustainable business model. Why would you scrap all that and return to ‘spend and bust’??

Whumpie
Cos we have some fans that just don’t get it & want instant glory & think that it’s nailed on that if you go for glory signings we’ll be sorted.
Even though we’ve been there, done that, printed up the t-shirt & sold it on a wet wednesday down the market.
Silly season is upon us once more.

I have a suspicion that the few clubs with financial clout (cash or borrowed) may spend big this summer. With Platini’s new fiscal rules on the horizon they’ll want to re-stock with young galacticos while they still can.

BUT that’s probably 3 teams at most. The rest will either stock their youth ranks only, or sell. Several will have fire sales.

We spent far more than most prem teams in January, and I suspect we’ll do the same in the summer. It’s just that it may only take £10m to achieve that.

And yes, I’d be happy with bottom-half next year, PROVIDED it’s then higher each year until we get back to where we belong. If it takes five seasons, so be it – much rather that than the Fat Fred style “sh*t or bust” gambles that so nearly killed us completely.

hear hear whumpie, you’re bang on the money there, yet again. Must be the southwest air!

Stuart, whilst your advocation that a club of our size deserves a more flamboyant approach to transfers is, in all fairness, a very reasonable one, I still think we need to get to such a position gradually over the course of about 5 years. Our name and reputation wont diminish so much by then that we are unable to attract the right class of player, and once we have the solid foundations of a top 10 side we can really start to push on.

Clint Flick, an extract for you from this morning’s Times regarding Mario Balotelli:

On Tuesday, while his Inter Milan team-mates celebrated their 3-1 win at home to Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, Mario Balotelli threw a tantrum by ripping off his jersey and hurling it on to the pitch before storming off. The forward, who had come on as a substitute, revealed that he was rattled by José Mourinho yelling at him and a portion of the supporters criticising him after a misplaced pass and a lackadaisical attempt at tracking back.

Fans will put up with a lot, but when millionaire footballers disrespect the shirt, it’s a step too far. Inter’s supporters wrote him an open letter, culminating in the words “to us, you no longer exist”. Massimo Moratti, the Inter president, called his gesture a “public suicide”. Even Mourinho and some of Balotelli’s Inter team-mates, who have backed him for much of the season, say they have had enough.

Come the summer, Super Mario is likely to become somebody else’s problem.

Look how long it took Sir Bobby Robson to get us challenging for europe , but he didnt get it one year and didnt a section of fans turn on him? MMM I wonder what type of fan would turn on a manager for finishing 5th? Fans who want instant success or fans who belive in slowly building up the team/club? Anyone any ideas? Funny that was when the club went into decline after SBR was sacked and the mass spending spree happened…..

Im not suggesting any person on this board called for Sir Bobby to be sacked just thinking outloud

We have no ‘RIGHT’ to anything.
That just plays into the hands of those that like to perpetuate the myth that we’re deluded Geordies that ‘deserve’ to be glorious.

We ALL want Newcastle to kick everyone’s butt all over the pitch.
But, we are, at this moment in time, a team that has got back to the prem, as champions, with a great fan base, looking to do well next season.
& THAT’S IT!
😉

It’s a fine line Stuart,
Big bucks on players you think are gonna be ‘world beaters’ can be described thus, hey?
Luque, Martins, Marcelino, Owen, Kluivert, Robert etc etc.
Especially when you lose money on them when it doesn’t pan out.

some people seem to miss the point! yes i have said i dont like CH and people have had a go but people still having a go at ashley to spend money, he has by keeping this club going by putting 25- 30 mil pounds in. if that was on players ever 1 would have been happy. we are in the prem league and with money coming in. he will make money and spent what is needed he isnt going to make that same mastake again. nobody would!plus this is going to be the first time for 3 years we will have money coming in from other sponcerships and new 1s this summer and players money we have sold last summer. fat fred got all are sponcership money up front so we had nothing coming in. i hope it will be new and improved newcastle going forward.

MA has now got the chance to ‘start again’ or at least ‘start a fresh’.
Going down has cleared the decks & all links to the past boom & bust under FFS.
I’m not saying he’s sorted, let’s all love him or owt.
Just that it is finally his club now & that offers him an opportunity to impress his business model.
It could be the making of NUFC, maybe not, only time will tell.

Stuart,
while i don’t totally disagree with you.
I think you know where i’m coming from mate.
We have no divine right to be successful, just cos we’re a big club with top & loyal support.
I do agree that we should be able to compete with most clubs in britain, based on money coming in.
But that means nowt if we don’t spend shrewdly.
I think CH has showed he has a good eye for the astute buy, with one eye on team spirit.
He also knows how to work within his limitations (financial), seemingly & work with his board. That’s got to offer you some hope, hasn’t it?

It’s a much to do with ALL of Martins missed sitters last season, than anyone else.
He was a £10m + wages FLOP!
He coulda/shoulda/woulda keep us up single-handedly if he had a modicum of cool in front of goal.
The best thing about him was getting 9 of the £10m back when he left to FLOP somewhere else.
Marcelino had rave reviews that year & was a coup.

stuart u are missing the point! 15 years ago we were good then came that fu..king crap dogliesh who put us back 10 years why didnt they fu.king let him buy rush and john barnes on a free for tino and ginola that was the end for us. then we got it back with robson for a while then we have been living in dreams for the past 5-6 years.

Stuart – I think what you are saying is entirely fair; we should expect to be among the elite. It’s just the timing that has to be realistic. I think anyone who believes we have some devine right to top-6 aspirations NEXT SEASON is as daft as a brush.

Our fan base and other sources of income (‘cos that’s all we are) point to a kitty of roughly the size people are speculating – £15-20m. More than that is more than we could afford as a club.

That amount is, if properly used, enough to move us forward and stabilise in the prem. The same again the following year will get us into the top half. Then you’re looking at one or two positions higher each season until you’re back where you ‘belong’.

So yep, I get what you’re saying… as long as you don’t mean next year.

I don’t mean next year we should be in the top six – I think we’ll find it absolutely incredibly difficult to finish top six in the next 5 years unless we spend more than £20m a year.

I only say that because we are so far behind the likes of Villa, Spurs, Liverpool and not to mention the top 3 plus City.

But it does beg the question – What’s the point of having one wealthy owner if he’s not going to invest any of his own money in the club for transfers, now we’re in the PL?

He promised us £20m a year – Now it’s we have to live within our means – Well we don’t need a wealthy owner then – You and I could own the club and keep it going within it’s own means. We wouldn’t achieve much though.

Yes, being a ‘big club’ with a large fanbase bring alot of money through the turnstiles, but more money comes from being in the Premiership (and the TV revenue it brings), and, moving up to the top, The Champion’s League.

Being in the Championship for a year, even with crowds that would be the envy of most of the Premiership was a huge financial broadside for the club. It lost over £50 million in one year minus the ‘parachute’ payment.

In today’s football world, the revenue which comes from a large, faithful fanbase in a big stadium IS very important, but it is less than half the battle at the top.

worky,
i don’t think Stuart’s gonna get it mate.
We’ve been round & round this block many times over the weeks & months.
& still he chooses to overlook certain key points.
It’s understandable like, he clearly loves the Toon, as we all do, & wants the best.
I know it’s frustrating, but anyway, all everyone is doing is speculating at the end of a good season. We don’t know if any of it is true, we’re all just assuming.
Based on tidbits.
MA surprised almost everyone in jan, so there’s a precedent for more of the same.
Or,
He guns down the whole squad in a revenge attack & throws a wet bed sheet ower the fans.
It could happen.

Parachute excepted, they’re not going to give us back the £50 million we lost though. I know what you’re saying, Waldorf, but it also works the other way. Clubs the size of Newcastle just aren’t supposed to get relegated, and with all the the big time charlies who weren’t offloaded until we were into the Championship season etc etc we just weren’t equipped for it at all, and took a huge hit financially.

156 Stuart79 says:
April 27, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Anybody going to answer my question then?
‘If were going to be living within or means or even less than our means, what’s the point of having one wealthy owner’?

So back to his £20m a year he said was his part of the deal????

Its like your suggesting we can pick n choose our owner there….

His 20 million a season this year went into the day to day running of the club , page wages n bills etc etc to cover the mass amount of money we had lost due to relegation,

The season beofre i suspect alot of the money he pumped in went on transfer fees we owed for Owen n Martions to name a few

I understand where his £20m a year has gone. Although this year he hasn’t given us the money, he has loaned the club the money – Massive difference!

But I’m talking about the future – We don’t need his money to keep us solvent anymore, we do need it to invest in good players.Do you think he will still invest £20m a year now were in the PL and are on a good financial footing?

I honestly think he will , He will run a tight ship but he has said in the past the money would be there for the right player , didnt we almost sign modric? But the proof as they say will be in the pudding

Looks like we are being linked to every player with a manager, not surprised really as we are in need of strengthening.
It`s going to get worse as time passes, rumors and wish lists from now untill the start of next season.
Thank goodness for the world cup to keep us distracted,
could`nt take another off season period like the one when KK arrived back.
The expectations were high with Modric, the Turkish kid and a host of others expected, what did we get “the cisco kid”
Moral of the story, keep your wish lists to yourself and dont expect too much.

that barcelona story is hilarious. can you imagine? harper would have a tough season in net. between puyol and colo, would be pretty tough seeing the game through all that mess of hair in front of him 😉

For a start, you need a very wealthy owner to be able to speculate that kind of money. Let’s face it, it’s not like you can just pop to the bank to borrow £20m these days. Yes, it’s a loan, but it has to be.

But beyond that I personally do NOT want to see any success which is the result of some sugar daddy throwing money at things with no interest in getting it back. That’s Citeh and Chelski and I have no respect for anything they achieve.

Also, Platini is at last going to level the playing field to stop that kind of ‘cup-buying’ approach. While I think it’ll be a long time before the stranglehold on the top few places relaxes, I think we should arrive at their level at roughly the right time.

So if you’re hoping for Ashley to buy us into contention with Citeh, then you’re on your own, fella. It’s a fools’ game that and there’s no pride to be taken in it.

I may not like the fella, but I totally agree with Ashley’s recent approach to things. Please gawd don’t let him screw the pooch now…

1. They are ALWAYS wrong; can we PLEASE learn?
2. The press are desperate to stir the shit on us, and daft, unsettling rumours are their primary weapons.
3. On the rare occasion where it’s not completely made up and an agent is involved, it’s just the agent trying to unsettle his client so he can get another huge wedge by moving them on.

And they know they’re succeeding by how much outrage and discussion they can spark on sites like this one. So please people, can we avoid discussing these daft stories beyond “it’s crap”?

that barcelona story is hilarious. can you imagine? harper would have a tough season in net. between puyol and colo, would be pretty tough seeing the game through all that mess of hair in front of him 😉

stu,people like asim are missing the point of what i was trying to say.
i’m not advocating spending fortunes,but if we shop in the bargain basement,then we will be in the relegation dog fightend of story.
the combine harvester brigade,who couldn’t find newcastle with a searchlight,like to hear themselves on.
do you honestly want to put your faith in the likes of routledge to keep newcastle up.